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Nintendo World Report Tournament of GOTY 2017

The Elite Eight

by the NWR Staff - January 22, 2018, 9:00 am PST

We're down to eight and things are about to get wilder.

Well, that just about went as we expected, though our top four seeds did not go unscathed. Super Mario Odyssey dunked on Sonic Mania 91% to 9% and Zelda: Breath of the Wild clowned on Snipperclips 82% to 18%. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe held on against Stardew Valley 60% to 40%, but our biggest upset happened when SteamWorld Dig 2 triumphed over Metroid: Samus Returns 58% to 42%. Seems people might like Dot more than Samus in 2017?

But who will those four games go on to play?

After Xenoblade Chronicles 2 eked out a win over Splatoon 2 53% to 47%, Rex and the gang earned a battle with Link and the Champions, setting the stage for Breath of the Wild vs. Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Rocket League fired off a goal at Fire Emblem: Heroes and won 76% to 24%, meaning that Rocket League or its next-round competitor SteamWorld Dig 2 will ensure one non-Nintendo-published game will make the final four. Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle defeated Fire Emblem: Shadows of Valentia 80% to 20%, putting up Nintendo's major Mario game Odyssey against Ubisoft's major Mario game. Arms dunked Dragon Quest VIII, winning 58% to 42%, setting up a match between Arms and fellow Switch multiplayer game Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Anyway, make sure to vote and check out the list of games below and the bracket.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo; March 3) vs. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Nintendo/Monolith; December 1

Gotta feel bad about those wild cards. Even if they make it to the Sweet Sixteen, they're pretty much gonna be crushed by heavy weights Odyssey, BotW and MK8. However, Steamworld Dig 2 might have a shot against Metroid 2: Samus Returns since the majority opinion seems to be that it's a fine enough game with a couple nice additions but not quite the Metroid experience hoped for. It doesn't quite wow as other games in the series. So, it might be possible for an early upset there. I suppose MK8 might have detractors by being a port but considering its sales that doesn't seem to be a concern for most Switch users.

It was always going to be Zelda and Mario in the finals, but this really highlights just what a tremendous year 2017 was for Nintendo. Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Breath of the Wild, and Super Mario Odyssey in year one of a console is still amazing to me.